Development and Characterization of Novel Fibers Based on Potato Protein/Polyethylene Oxide Through Electrospinning

Abstract

Nowadays, there is a marked tendency in order to develop new composite fibers based on proteins and polysaccharides due to these materials can exhibit a wide range of tailored functional properties. In this framework, this study has been focused on the development of novel potato protein (PP)-based composite fibers by electrospinning technique using formic acid as solvent media. At the selected electrospinning conditions, PP pure solutions (3–8 wt.%) showed inadequate spinnability. Interestingly, the addition of polyethylene oxide (PEO) as co-blending polymer improved the solutions viscoelasticity and hence, the solutions spinnability. Composite fibers with enhanced properties were obtained at higher PEO concentrations while systems with higher PP protein contents led to electrosprayed separate aggregates of particles. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis results showed that the obtained composite fibers were composed of both PP and PEO materials. DSC results show that PP influences on PEO polymer thermal behaviour lowering its melting point, and an increase of the PEO amount produces a decrease of the α-helix denaturation temperature. Due to the properties of PP and PEO, these novel composite fibers could find importance in a diverse range of applications as advanced functional materials in fields like food science and biomedical applications.